Jenjie

Some extra photos which didn't fit into my review, but I know will be appreciated!! :D

pretty accurate summary! i like :D

I was about to post some more pics, but Roadie 42 has decided to join the party instead!! #42 reports back from a magical night in London Well bugger me - we made it! Obviously, now it's done it seems like it was nothing, but going into it, it felt like there was a lot of potential for trainwreck. We've done a complete lap of the planet in just over a week, a bunch of awards show madness, a quick Japanese tour and topped it all off with a mad dash across town into a charity show, getting a whole gig's worth of gear set up in a matter of hours for an absolute belter of a night. The Brits rehearsals pass in a blur. There's an eight hour gap between dress rehearsal and the show, so there's a move to bail for the hotel. I decide to wait for the second van and kill some time in the dressing room. On the drinks table is a brochure for a bunch of free spa treatments available in the backstage area. Now obviously, these are intended for pop superstars and not grimy roadies, but hell, the band left ages ago. I'm tempted by the spray tan purely for the comedy value, but eventually chicken out, settling instead for a neck and shoulders massage to chase away the long hauls. After thirty minutes of having my spine re-arranged, I feel so relaxed I can barely stay awake long enough to get back to the hotel. I book an alarm call so I'm ready for the 6pm van back to the gig. Needless to say, I pick up and put down the phone and head back off into the land of nod. By sheer fluke I'm awakened by traffic noise and dive out the door into a cab. The Brits performance goes pretty well, I think - not that I'd know, as from my spot I can just about see the back of Guy's bass rig and nothing else. The bass rig did very well though, I thought... Time then to heave all the gear over to Shepherd's Bush. Out the back of Earls Court, U2's crew have kindly let us jump the queue and bring our truck in first. They even give us a hand loading it up - what wonderful gents. So then, the Shepherd's Bush Empire show for War Child. I haven't done a gig inside Shepherd's Bush Empire for years. Back when I was last in here, it was the biggest gig I'd ever done. Today though, it looks very small indeed. It's essentially a theatre. What could be more sensible then, than trying to cram two arena bands onto the tiny stage? The Killers are first up and in perfect Vegas style, they have a wonderfully palm-tree laden stage set. I've never seen these guys live before and they are blindingly good. Indeed, when they steam into Somebody Told Me, the response from the crowd is so huge that it feels worryingly like our fellas' show will just be an after-thought. As ever in situations like this, the setlist changes several times in the approach to showtime. Whilst the Killers are on, the tiny corridor beside the stage becomes our crew office as we pore over the current incarnation of the plan and work out just how we're going to make it work. Will passes through on his way for a watch of the Killers. He leans in to ask Bash a question (entirely unrelated to the gig) and in the belief that he's come with information on just what the hell might happen later, he's immediately surrounded by the entire crew, who crowd him like cattle round a farmer with a feed-bag. He's as non-plussed as the rest of us. We do know that the setlist we have in front of us has had Yellow and I'm A Believer dropped from it though. The changeover actually goes very smoothly. Credit undoubtedly to The Killers' wonderful crew and the calm forethought of Kurt our stage manager. Pretty soon, the fellas are on and it's clear that it's going to be a special night. Pretty soon too, the setlist is all but a memory. Chris shouts across the stage that they're going to do Yellow after all. To me, it makes sense. Just as the last time I worked on a gig here it was the biggest thing I'd done, so too did Coldplay play here in 2000 and I bet it felt huge to them back then. Almost a decade later here they are absolutely blowing the roof off the place with the same song. The roof went on to go some distance further as the evening (or rather the morning, it being around 1am by this point) progressed. The encore began with a joyous and celebratory romp through Viva La Vida. The sound of a crowd roaring this back at the stage never fails to impress. There's something though, about the fact that in a venue this size you can actually see the whites of the eyes of the person furthest away from the stage that means that it feels like the biggest New Year's Eve singalong ever. Not bad for February, I guess. Chris has promised the best encore of all time and his first weapon to back up those claims is Gary Barlow from Take That. The fellas have been dropping a short version of this into the live set for a while now, so it was pretty inevitable that they'd give this one a shot. The crowd greet Gary with a riotus reception and the party is into full swing. Jon Hopkins is at the piano and it's one big 1am drunken singalong. The final blowout comes in the shape of the Killers' track All These Things That I've Done. Suddenly the stage is quite simply awash with folks. The Killers have come up and have plugged into Coldplay's gear, taken over the drumstool and the piano. Bono, from young Dublin hopefuls The U2s has nonchalantly walked on to deafening applause. Chris has dragged Gary Barlow back onstage. It's noisy, it's chaotic - in places, quite frankly it's a complete fucking mess, but this is exactly as it should be and it's completely excellent. I remember weeks ago in the Bakery, Chris talking about doing this gig and mentioning the idea of inviting guests on for a big finale. "It'd be great to turn it into just one big ol' Brits party" he said. Well, they've not just had a party, they've had something to celebrate. It was an absolutely belting gig. Roadie #42 http://www.coldplay.com/newsdetail.php?id=326

I love it :D that came out so well with the white scarf? that's me

Part 3: Where did I leave off? oh, yes, the Blue Danube. The Blue Danube hits a crescendo, the lights go out, the screams intensify & the first notes of Life In Technicolor play out. Finally, those 10 and a half hours, are over!!! Out walk the boys, and we're off! unfortunately, I think I'm going to be about as useful as I was after the Absolute gig. So many things seem to merge, and the fact that during the encores I went into meltdown & was completely incoherent doesn't help much either. At the point LiT started, and the band came on stage, I entered a very happy place, the buzz of which hasn't worn off yet, and I have lots of fragmented memories. Singing my heart out, semi-dancing & taking photos seems to have done for my memory recall. This gig felt completely different to any I have ever been to before, and at the moment I can't place why. It felt that way, even before the most amazing encore ever! The only thing I can put it down to is sharing the experience with a fab group of Coldplayers & it being some incarnation of the Coldplay Karma. LiT and Violet Hill were great, but Clocks kicked up a notch again for me. I've not felt that emotional during Clocks for a few years now, but the minute it started all the old, happy feelings flooded back. Just as a clarification, for years Clocks has been my favourite live song but back in December it just didn't have its usual magic spark. In the early hours of this morning (it was today!!!!! this time yesterday we were stood at the barrier contemplating roadies!!!), it was back with a vengeance. In My Place was awesome. It felt like the whole venue was singing along. And then in the middle, Chris came to the very corner of the stage, right in front of us, and sat down against the wall. I couldn't believe how close he was. He was even closer than the gig at Absolute a few weeks back!!! Yellow definitely had the whole venue singing along, and Chris pretty much left us to it for a while. After Fix You, they had a quick break, before coming back on. First up was Viva La Vida. Which rocked! When Will bangs that drum, he's like a maniac! I have a lovely picture of the drum, with blurred Will standing over it!! Next up came one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I still can't believe it happened. My two favourite bands on the whole planet semi-collaborated! Unfortunately in the process, I reverted to the teenager I never was, and screamed in a way I never have before. The most I ever screamed before was when Sale Sharks won the Guinness Premiership Final a few years back. I don't do screaming fan girl, and until that final hadn't thought I was actually capable of really screaming. This morning, I surpassed that, and apologies to Anna who was in the unfortunate position of being right next to me! Just to clarify why I was screaming, on the verge of tears, and going weak at the knees. I am a huge Take That fan as well as a Coldplay fan. One of the most amazing experiences of my life was when this happened (and I did behave like a sensible human being then, so why last night was different I don't know): So, having seen the rumours on Twitter that The Sun was saying Take That were going to perform, I allowed myself a glimmer of hope, but didn't pin too much hope on it happening. Particularly as Anchorman was playing hard to get & would only Twitter that there was going to be a special guest. Chris starts his introductions, and I still didn't really believe it was happening, until Gary walked out onto the stage. Even looking at these pictures, I still can't quite believe I didn't dream it. Gary & Coldplay performed 'Back For Good' whilst the whole room sang along. You couldn't make it up! And if you thought the evening couldn't get anymore surreal, there was the last song. Akillers song, with Coldplay & The Killers, but no, we couldn't possibly leave it at that, so we'll just throw in Bono & Gary Barlow as well. All sense of reality had completely dissipated by this point. God job I was sober, if I'd been drinking I don't think my brain could have coped with what it was seeing. The night doesn't end there though, oh no, no!! I draped over the barrier for a bit whilst I tried to comprehend what had just happened, and whilst we waited for the room to clear. The girls shouted to Matt, and he handed over Jonny's setlist and some other bits and pieces. He also seemed a little baffled that they were calling him by name. Whilst we were stood around, someone spotted Phil on the balcony (I think it was Kara & Mich). So we shouted to him, and he stopped and talked to us for a few minutes. Mich already mentioned the gist of the conversation, so I won't add anymore. I don't think any of us took any photos as we were so stunned he stopped to chat for a few mins. We slowly made our way out via the toilets & the merch stand. To the right, near where we had been queueing were some mercs with blacked -out windows and some paparrazi hanging around. Whilst we were discussing what to do next, the paparrazi suddenly sprinted off down the road after someone. Someone mentioned it was possible Sienna Miller leaving. Ian & I decided to call it a night, as it was approaching 2am by this point. We said bye and wandered up the road to try and grab a black cab. At the other end of Shepherds Bush Common we got lucky. As the cab drove back past the Empire, the paparazzi flash bulbs were going, and the Mercs were driving off. They must have come out of the door about 15/20 mins after we left. And that is Jen's story of one of the most surreal 24 hours of her life. Its the most amazing show I have ever been to, and it will take some topping.

squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee thanks Mr security man :D

part 3 will be a lot later. I'm giving in and have to eat some proper food. not eaten since tuesday really. back soon :D

in which case I got the gett pic wrong :laugh3:

Anchorman got us :D Green arrow is me :D Pink arrow is Anna Red arrow is Ian then my eyes hurt squinting & I couldn't work out the rest

oooooh where? and I found this one!! I think it works as follows on this Getty pic: 1 - Mich's arm 2 - Kara 3 - Kelly 4 - Lori 5 - Kirsten

Part 2: Around 11ish Steve Lamacq came on stage for a brief intro to War Chilkd and also to let us know it was going to be about another 20 mins before The Killers came on. It is Steve Lamacq, hiding behind the K, I promise! When The Killers came on they were superb. I wouldn't say I was a huge Killers fan, but I know some of their stuff, like it, and could sing along to a few songs. Brandon had great stage presence, you could feel his enjoyment coming in waves. And his eyes! I don't know how to describe it, but they just sort of sparkled. Will seem to be enjoying the performance too. He very kindly stood at the side of the stage in his white shirt, making him relatively easy to spot behind the packing cases & guitars. if you squint, you can just about make out Will's t-shirt below the guitar! It got exceptionally warm during The Killers set, so it was greatly appreciated when the security guys started passing out plastic cups of water whilst the roadies got to work. I don't know how many times they refilled the water bottles, but they were great. Watching the roadies at work was pretty awesome, particularly as at the beginning both sets of roadies were on stage at once. Watching "ours" in particular was pretty awe-inspiring, they seemed to work so seamlessly together, and got thing set up pretty quickly. Whilst the roadies were finishing off, Al Murray came out. I know he's a comedian and supposed to be keeping the crowd warm, but if he seriously thinks Queen is better than either The Killers or Coldplay, he's one very deluded man!! Quite a bit of verbal audience participation involved as well. Q: how many roadies can you fit on one stage? A: Lots!! Eventually, the stage looks like this: the television is switched on and Al Murray finally leaves!! What could possible happen next? The Blue Danube!! At which point, I think the security guys thought we had finally succumbed to the heat & lost the plot. As we dum-de-dumed along, clapped, and in some case, conducted, he was laughing alot!! I think you can guess what's coming in Part 3!!!! :D

i had trouble squinting at them last night. you didn't manage to capture Gemma Arterton or Courtney Love did you?

Jen's Enormous Review Part 1 Ian and I arrive in London at approx 12:30pm. We checked in, and I texted Mich to let them know we had arrived. The reply came back to say they were at the venue, and the Victims had already started the queue (allegedly at 6am :shocked2: ). A fter a quick, 2 second, consultation, we decided to hot foot it over there and join them. We got the tube to Shepherds Bush, came out of the station, and couldn't work out which way we were going. Luckily, the nice lady handing out Specsavers leaflets gave us directions! We joined the Coldplaying contingent near the front of the queue. By this point, I think we were upto Mich, Kara, Kelly, Lori, Kirsten, Carol and the lovely couple from Birmingham (its so lame, my tired brain cells refuse to produce their names from the depths of last night). I have never queued for so long in my life, for anything (about 7 hours for Ian & I :\ ). Mid-way through, I doubted my sanity, as it started spitting with rain, and the temperature fell, but I tried positive thinking that if we could get front row it would all be worth it (and I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams how very worth it those 7 hours were!! but more to follow on that later :D ). Bits of it were boring, but the time passed suprisingly quickly in the end. Shepherds Bush Common is a busy area so there was plenty to keep us occupied (good conversation; the blue carpet layers; the sparkies sorting the film premiere style lights;emergency services whizzing past; and trips to the shops/pub for warmth/food/drink/toilet breaks). fire engine action shot!!!!! film premiere light thingy It got dark surprisingly quickly, and up popped 3 guys with guitars. chatting to one of them we discovered that the o2 Empire had employed them to keep the queue amused. I don't think they could have imagined how well Coldplaying would take to this, and the Coldplaying Backing Choir was born!! Allegedly, according to one of the guitar men, we were the best part of the queue and the guys near the back weren't anywhere near as enthusiastic (not sure if this was due to the fact we'd been there so long that we even found the Empire switching on its outisde lights exciting!!) Shortly after 21:00, they opened the doors. Due to them checking tickets, ID, and bags, the entry was relatively slow & civilised, so no running was required. We were in the front row on jonny's side of the stage. The Killers were due on at 23:10, so we settled in for more waiting. By this point, it should have felt like nothing, but it still felt like an eternity as we counted the minutes. Luckily, we were able to keep ourselves amused with on-stage roadie spotting, keeping up-to-date with Brits news via Twitter & Mel (good job we had Mel on texts because after 8 hours my phone battery died! ty hun :kiss:), and watching the people in the balconies. Some cool Architecture inside Stage set up ready for the Killers That's Miller behind those drums, that is!! Around the time Anchorman (or was it Phil or #42, I forget) twittered to say that U2's roadies had helped ours to load up at Earls Court, we saw our first peek of them on stage, moving in the big cases with Coldplay on the side. At one point, Franksy came out and was talking to some guys near the back of the stage. Ian tried to get a piccie of him, but the flash settings were playing up. Once Ian finally got a clear shot, Franksy had noticed what he was doing and flashed him a v-sign. That's part 1 done for now :D

I think we may have failed you :embarassed: We were all so stunned, I don't think any of us got a pic at all.

wow, you girls are fast :shocked: ace reviews :D suppose I'd better start typing mine up :lol:

we're hoooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! Just uploading pics, because I intend to insert them in my review. Part 1 was written on the back of my print-outs, in the hotel this morning. Will type up shortly for you. Part 2 will be written a bit later. I'm still so excited, I'm afraid its going to be humungous!! There are so many amazing tidbits to put in. In the meantime, some Killers pics for any fans: Cool swirly pattern on the side of the big light-up K

Just a quickie before sleep. not got time to read the posts which came before, so if any duplication, sorry. Ian's probably twittered most of the highlights. will compile proper report when get back to Manchester tomorrow. absolutely surreal & awesome. queued for 7 hours, before doors opened. Had ace time with all the coldplayers in the queue. lots of time to chat, check out twitter. as we were so close to the front of the queue, we were front row in front og=f Jonny. Looks like we have some awesome pictures to share. Killers were great. Coldplay were better, obviously :p Al Murray (pub landlord ) did a bit of gap filling whilst the roadies worked like trojans to get the kit up. My highlight was when Gary Barlow joined our boys on stage for BAck For Good. I am ashamed to admit, I went into complete fan girl mode and screamed like a girl. I have never screamed like that in my life, and I blame Chris for ending the main set with Fix You, which had made me a bit emotional. The last song with Coldplay, Killers, Brandon Flowers, & Gary Barlow was so surreal, I wouldn't believe it had happened if I didn't have pics. After the show, we managed to talk to Phil, in a reverse Romeo & Juliet moment!! We spotted him on the balcony so yelled up, and he sat on the edge of the balcony to exchange a few words with us. that's all for now. night night :kiss:

As I'm going to have enough time to wash my hait tomorrow, I think you'll be fine :P :kiss: yay :D I can go finish packing & go to bed now :D

see above quote :)

I don't think we've decided yet. although 5pm ish was the last I heard mentioned. Ian's the boss, so whenever he wants to go and queue really. I have Mich's mobile number so will keep in contact :D

ty hun :kiss: am off to bed in a sec, or I'll be fit for nothing before the doors even open :laugh3:

the awareness is definitely working. according to one paper I read today, the number of young women attending their regular smear tests has risen 20% since Jade went public with her cancer.

nooooo I'm going to bed soon, then getting up verrrrrrry early in the morning to head over there. only finished work 2 hours ago :(

London, baby!!!!

not if you're playing by Boggle rules you can't :P